Spieth: Olympics call not a factor in Open display
Jordan Spieth finally shot below par at The Open and then insisted his call to withdraw from the Olympics had no impact on his game.
The 22-year-old was one of the pre-tournament favourites, but a second-round 75 meant he only just made the cut at Royal Troon.
It came after Spieth had left it until the eve of the tournament to confirm he would not be taking part in Brazil, citing health concerns amid fears of over the Zika virus
“I don’t think it made any difference on me at all,” he said after Sunday’s 68.
“It wore on me a bit the beginning of the week because I was so undecided. It was such a tough decision. I was 50-50 and could have gone either way.
“But it did not affect my play at all this week. I don’t think it made a difference in my preparation.
“I was still out here grinding since Saturday.”
While Spieth had to content himself with closing two over for the tournament, the leading duo were tied on minus 12 after two holes of the final round.
Phil Mickelson started the day a stroke behind, ended the first one up, and was joined again at the summit when Henrik Stenson birdied the second.
